ALUMNI CONNECTIONS
Here are three of our superstar alumni! Please follow us on social media to hear more inspiring stories from our alumni, all across the globe.
David Kelleher-Flight
DAVID KELLEHER-FLIGHT lives life in a New York state of mind. Normally, Dr. Kelleher-Flight would be performing in operas with the New York City Opera at the Lincoln Center, as well as teaching singing. However, pandemic life means all performances have been cancelled.
His outlook is positive.
“I’ve been able to focus my energies teaching my voice students at the State University of New York, which is done virtually these days. But I’m looking forward to getting back to performing when things resume in New York theatres,” he said.
When recalling his time at Memorial, he remembered the wonderful relationship he had with his voice teacher, Dr. Caroline Schiller.
“She really inspired me to want to pursue a doctorate in music and teach at the university level. It was her dedication to the craft and love of teaching that inspired me to want to do the same for young singers, and what a truly rewarding career it is,” he said.
Acknowledging a tremendously difficult time for the world, Dr. Kelleher-Flight believes that more than ever, the arts will play a crucial role in our culture and society.
“I encourage people to be generous in their support of Memorial’s own wonderful School of Music, and to extend this support to the many vibrant arts organizations and venues that we boast in the province. By supporting each other, we will stay strong.”
Mandy Penney
WITH A NUANCED AND EVOLVING education and career path, Mandy Penney has learned that while journeys may not unfold as originally planned, they often bring us where we need to be.
As training support supervisor with InclusionNL, a program that provides supports, services and information to businesses in Newfoundland and Labrador on accessibility, inclusion, disability confidence and inclusive employment, Ms.Penney realized that entrepreneurship has the potential to solve social problems, such as unemployment rates for those with disabilities.
After completing her degrees in arts and social work from Memorial, she has decided to pursue entrepreneurship and social enterprise. “I am particularly proud of planning and hosting #RisingYouthPreneurNL in 2019,” she said. “This two-day conference allowed youth with disabilities to explore entrepreneurship. In the future, I’d like to establish a social enterprise that helps people with disabilities. I’d like to have a career path that allows for new opportunities and constant growth.”
Ms. Penney is currently a student in Memorial’s MBA program (Social Enterprise and Entrepreneurship) – what will be her third degree from Memorial. She plans to continue her education beyond that, with a PhD program.
During her time at Memorial, she has enjoyed numerous volunteering experiences, which she feels helped her develop personal and professional interests and skills.
“I always recommend campus and community involvement to other students because you can learn so much about yourself and the world around you.”
Jeff King
AS SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT AND SCIENCE LEADER at Amazon, Jeff King credits his parents and Star Trek. His parents bought him his first computer in 1989. The Federation and Captain Picard implanted a vision of the future, in the form of voice- first computing.
“I started learning programming when I was around 10, writing simple programs. To this day, there is nothing better than seeing something you’ve created come to life on the screen. I studied computer engineering because it seemed like a natural path to allow me to pursue my love of software development,” he said.
He joined Verafin after graduation, in that company’s infancy, and joined Amazon in 2015 as a manager of one of the few Toronto-based teams, and since then, he’s been a part of significant growth and product development.
“Around 2016, Amazon’s Echo devices and Alexa really started to take off. I was fascinated by the potential of voice-first computing. Today, I get to lead teams of engineers and scientists to build things that would have been considered sci-fi only a few years ago.”
Mr. King said he loved the small company culture during his time at Verafin.
“The agility and speed at which we moved was super exciting. I am so glad that Amazon has a similar culture and each team and group is run almost like a small company internally. I love the fact that I get to work closely with so many brilliant people!”
As for career and life advice?
“Take risks, especially when you’re young, put yourself in uncomfortable positions that help you grow.”